The first impact felt like twenty tonnes of sand being dumped right on my chest. The {Acidic Breastplate} took the hit, but I was immediately forced back as I fought for purchase in the loose dirt.

I couldn’t afford to catch hits on my shield, because I knew it would be instantly destroyed. Instead, I took the hit and let myself be pummeled.

Now I understood them.

My biggest worry was that the flickering, smoky effect on the beasts was representative of their entire body — something I couldn’t pierce with a spear. I’d neglected putting any enchantments on {The Glass Cannon}, partially because it would cost money, but mostly because I couldn’t think of anyone in Bill’s Yard who might be capable enough to do it well.

I slashed at the beast, stabbing directly into the centre of its being.

{You have defeated a Level 59 ^^^*#@^^%.}{+666 EXP, +1 #%^&#$%}

What the fuck does that mean?

The symbols flashed then faded from my screen well after the rest of the notification had gone away.

Is my immersion breaking? Too many hours in the Pod?

It couldn’t have been that. Everything else was running fine. I could feel my movements perfectly.

I only had a moment to think before the next monster was upon me. I dodged under a wide swing, ducking low and bringing up my shield to its side.

[Shield Wall]

The beast was knocked back into two others. I leapt forward, my extra Agility letting me fly through the air and pierce directly into its skull. The two monsters it crashed into recovered, swinging wildly at me and letting out tortured grunts.

I had no time to deal with them. A flood of other escapees were sprinting toward Claire and Penelope. Claire had the girl on her right hip while she fumbled to get her bow swung round from her back.

No, Claire. It’s not worth it. Just run. Run!

I chased them down, hoping my Agility was enough. At level 59, the monsters were only a few levels higher than me.

I can do it. I can make it.

Claire couldn’t get her bow organised in time. Even if she could, Penelope would’ve had to let go, and I didn’t think that would be possible. Even as she was, latched onto Claire like her own personal koala bear, the little girl was terrified. She screamed when she looked at the closest monster and wailed when she saw its trajectory, knowing Claire was in its way.

“Duck!”

Our roles had reversed. For once, I would protect Claire from a last-minute hit.

[Critical Strike] [Spear Charge]

My approach angle was awful. Increasing the hit zone and powering up my strike was all I could do.

{You have defeated a Level 59 ^^^*#@^^%.}{+666 EXP, +1 #%^&#$%}

“Claire! You getting these notifications?”

She nodded. Her hair whipped and struck out, flying randomly in the storm that had suddenly brewed. Winds swirled around us, blackened skies approached from the west, and mountains of monsters surged across the plains.

Is this an invasion? Now, of all times?

There was no time to hesitate. Even if it was an attack on Asteroth — to which we owed no allegiance — there was no way I was letting it get between us and Penelope.

Or the twenty thousand krad.

I pushed them away, turning back to face the horde. I still had some tricks up my sleeve. One of which I’d been debating ever since the fight with Ooze Man.

[Dash] [Warrior’s Wrath] [Tsunami Strike] [Arc Strike]

My javelin wouldn’t do a lot of damage, but I wanted to see if [Tsunami Strike] would count the Stun as part of its damage.

It was extremely risky, but it paid off.

The javelin went deep into the pack, lancing into the chest of a monster. Electricity radiated outwards, infecting all of the surrounding monsters and seizing them in its grip.

I jumped into the mess with {The Glass Cannon}. Every kill made me just a little faster, more dextrous.

More dangerous.

[Warrior’s Wrath] capped out, putting me at an Agility stat of 62. It was almost too much too handle, but it kept me from the vicious swipes that the monsters sent my way.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

This is like the first time, only I know how to use my weapon.

I can fight. I can win.

A low buzzing noise made its way to my ear. The monsters heard it too. The particles of smoke on their bodies reacted, pointing towards the sound and vibrating. They screeched, like the frequency hurt them.

I found the ravine through the mass of dissipating bodies and enemies. A pure black liquid flowed over the edge, rapidly advancing once it had filled what I thought was endless space.

How much is there? It looked deep…

My only theory so far was that Ooze Man had decided to renege on his vote. He might not have been able to actually cancel his decision, but he could certainly take revenge. And Piliton’s contract only specified that one of the Stakes would be guarding him for the first six months. If another Stake showed up, defeated the guard and then killed Piliton, that was fair game.

Of course, he loses in just about every other way. But maybe he isn’t as concerned with The Ancients as Tabitha seems to be.

My musings were interrupted by a bulky arm connecting right into my face.

{Bill’s Sunhat} flew from my head, and I immediately felt the pain.

Proper pain.

I hadn’t taken too many bad hits so far, but this was torture, even with the dulled senses. As a kid, I’d had a basketball impact straight into my nose after I’d spread my arms too wide and it slipped through my fingers. This was that, but it was a different basketball for every bone in my face.

I shouted out, then bit my cheek and forced myself to grit my teeth. If Claire heard me, she might come back and try to help.

[Dash]

The quick cooldown gave me a second of respite. I could only dash into a slightly less infested area, one where the monsters were still deciding what to do between chasing down Claire and Penelope, or returning to the noise that seemed magnetic to them.

“Just go back!” I yelled. “Leave us the fuck alone!”

Some turned to me like they’d nearly forgotten I was there. I darted in and out with {The Glass Cannon}, desperately trying to chain together the Agility buff from [Warrior’s Wrath]. I could feel myself getting sluggish. It was difficult to keep it up unless the monsters were basically falling on me. I had to kill twenty-five of the fuckers in a twenty second interval if I wanted to maintain top speed.

Another hit took me in the side, and this one clearly did some serious damage. Whatever self-preservation I’d gained from my buffed Defence and Vitality was nearing its limits. I knew I’d be able to take a few more hits on the {Acidic Breastplate}, but another one to the face or my side would spell the end for me.

At last, the numbers seemed to dwindle. The buzzing was growing louder, and the overflow of black soup from the ravine formed into a massive, rotating sphere. For once, I had absolutely no interest in finding out what it was, what it did, or who put it there.

I just wanted to run. Nothing else mattered to me in that moment but preserving both my life and those of Claire and Penelope. If any of the stragglers decided that chasing down the two of them was an easier course of action than returning to whatever the horrific monstrosity behind me was, then I had to be there to protect them.

[Dash]

The skill put me out in front, fighting against my lacking Endurance. My Agility would taper off as I stayed out of combat, but I would be able to reignite it by taking down any nearby enemies as long as I didn’t lose it completely.

Which I will do in a matter of seconds.

I had to decide if I was done fighting or not. If I committed to running, and too many of them chased me, I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I’d have to somehow kill every one of them, or risk them getting to the other two.

“Claire! CLAIRE!”

She couldn’t hear me. That was good. It meant she was further away than I thought. My vision was getting hazy, and my legs were weak. I stumbled a few steps, then something in me gave out.

My character convulsed, but I couldn’t control it. I lost feeling, just like what had happened at the AT-2000 contest.

I’ve knocked off a node. Or someone took it off. Is my real body in trouble? An intruder?

I had to disconnect, but I felt too sick to move. All I knew was that the monsters were retreating to the ravine, and the orb was glowing a deep crimson. The black receded like an opening eyelid.

It pulsed. My head ached.

It pulsed. I felt like I was vomiting, but nothing came out.

It pulsed. Every nerve in my body was firing.

I felt someone raise my head. I forced an eye open and saw Claire.

Goddammit, why’d you come back?

She was kneeling in the grass. She pulled an HP potion from her inventory and placed it to my lips. When I made no effort to drink it, she forced it down my throat.

The headache didn’t stop.

I convulsed again, spilling the dregs of the potion on my face and down my neck.

Claire was saying something, but she sounded so far away.

“…Wrong?...help…I can’t…wrong?”

My arms were too weak to make the sign to disconnect. I tried to close my eyes and weather the storm, doing anything to take away the pain.

At last, everything faded.

**************

Oliver slipped in and out of consciousness. I tried to lift his head and force another potion into him, but I knew it was pointless. Something had affected him — something I couldn’t fix from inside the game.

I’d never seen anything like this. I’d never heard about it. Penny was somewhere behind me, but she merely stood there in shock.

When a kid is silent, that’s how you know they’re truly scared.

There was no time to look after her. I tried to come up with something. If I disconnected, I might get able to get Mom or Dad to call the Peacers. But they wouldn’t know what to tell them, and neither did I.

He’s the kid from the news. The kid from the Yard. He’s in trouble.

Maybe.

But if I left, then whatever that orb contained would keep beating away at him. He writhed in time with its pulses, each convulsion sending his body into spasms.

My bow slipped around my shoulder and I shoved it back. I couldn’t stop tears from gathering at the corners of my eyes. Wiping them away was useless.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t do anything to help him. I can only watch.

“Claire-ee?”

Penny was standing close enough that I could smell whatever herbs and plants she’d been playing around with last. She whispered my name. It took everything I had not to reach out and hold her, at least brush my fingers through her hair and tell her that Ollie-ee would be fine.

This isn’t death. I’ve seen players die. It’s not torturous, it’s not this.

Penelope placed a hand on my shoulder. She was just a million lines of code, some unfathomably complicated machine that had become unbelievably dear to me.

She was crying.

Ollie had disappeared.

**************

This is the login screen.

I swept my fingers over one of the lecterns where a book would usually have sat. Maybe the Options one. Or the one that simply asked, ‘Help?’.

The gardener was there. His posture was straight, and somehow, he was younger. The wispy white beard he used to have on his chin was at least salt and pepper, leaning more towards pepper.

Is this the death screen?

For the first time since I’d seen him, he wasn’t gardening. An easel sat in front of him, the legs lodged in the few free spots of the flowerbed. He held a brush in his right hand, and a pot of grey-brown water in his left.

A tall fence stood between us. I rested my face between the gaps of two bars.

He turned to me.

“Challenge me, boy.”